The Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydropower station in the world due to its sheer size and crest height of 185 meters, but imagine what it would be like to have a hydropower station located on a 3,000-meter plateau. China is leading the way with a spectacular mega-project: the Lianghekou Dam. It covers an area of more than six football fields and generates the second largest amount of electricity in the world. What's even more shocking is that its height is 50 meters higher than the Hoover Dam in the United States, making it the tallest earth-rock dam in China.
The Lianghekou Hydropower Station is located on the main stream of the Yalong River in Sichuan Province, where mountains and valleys meet. Not only does it excel in China's river regulation, but it also plays a key role in generating electricity. In addition to this, it also helps to optimize the shipping conditions of the Yangtze River waterway during the dry season, thereby greatly improving the structure of the Sichuan power grid. In addition, the Lianghekou Hydropower Station plays a key role in flood control in the middle and lower reaches of the Sichuan River and the Yangtze River.
But building a hydropower plant at such a high altitude is no easy task. This is an almost impossible task if you rely entirely on traditional concrete and steel and handle it entirely by hand. Therefore, the design team chose to build the hydropower plant by landfilling. However, this does not mean that the entire dam is made of earth and stone alone, and it is crucial to ensure that the dam is stable. To achieve this, the construction team used impervious clay structural materials and applied high-pressure treatment to both sides of the dam, which not only mitigated the impact of strong water pressure, but also enhanced the stability of the dam.
In order to further ensure the safety of the dam, the construction personnel laid more than 1,000 layers of sand on the dam body. The building materials needed for the outside of the dam, such as sand and gravel, are mined by on-site blasting. This is a highly complex project that requires multiple blasting sessions to complete the entire sand and gravel extraction.
Working in this cold and high-altitude environment is extremely challenging. But the Chinese construction team managed to overcome these difficulties by carving a huge cave in the mountain for the placement of large generators. These generators are expected to generate 110 billion kilowatts of electricity per year, which will undoubtedly bring huge economic benefits to the country.
The construction of the Lianghekou Hydropower Station is not only about energy supply, but also about environmental protection and ecological development. It is expected that the average annual power generation of the power plant will be equivalent to a significant reduction in carbon emissions and other pollutants, which will make a great contribution to the protection of the environment and the promotion of ecological balance, as well as bring benefits to the people in the riverside area.
Summary: The construction of the Lianghekou Hydropower Station demonstrates China's outstanding capabilities in the field of water conservancy engineering and its commitment to environmental protection. By adopting innovative construction methods and respecting the environment, this project not only provides a stable energy supply, but also brings multiple benefits to the region. Whether it's a technical challenge, environmental protection or economic benefits, the Lianghekou hydropower station is a comprehensive success.